Customer Reviews

Rattled

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

When we first bought our modest little townhouse, there was an enchanted wood behind us. And in that wood were chipmunks and raccoons, white-tailed deer and woodchucks and the songs of bluebirds. Then a great evil came out of the North. Dozens of giant 4500 square-foot McMansions began popping up in the wood like malignant mushrooms. The songs of the bluebirds are gone, and so are the cute animals. My wife and I often wonder what manner of evil creatures dwell in those houses. (We like to imagine that they are pale and only come out at night to feed.)

Rattled is the hilarious story of a woman who moves into a McMansion home development like the one in my backyard. She is a self-centered, materialistic, upwardly mobile, overly-assertive, hyper-energenic yuppie housewife who ends up battling just about everyone and everything in the community (including neighbors, rattlesnakes, rattlesnake lovers, corrupt developers, other 3rd grade class moms, and a lot of rats) in order to achieve the life she feels entitled to.(Imagine the Eva Longoria character from Desperate Housewives on steroids.) And while Rattled may sound like a "woman's book", it is not. Everyone (adults only, please) will enjoy it. It is the kind of book Carl Hiaasen would have written if Carl Hiaasen were a woman and lived in New Jersey and . . . you know. . . had hundreds of rats in his basement.

Also, I have to admit, reading this book made me feel much better about my new neighbors: maybe they'll be invaded by rats and rattlesnakes too.

Highly recommended.

"Rattled" by Debra Galant has all the characters we love to hate-the slimy developer, the shallow and acquisitive yuppie couple, the Stepfordesque PTO moms. The comedic drama is played out on the vanishing home turf of the endangered New Jersey timber Rattler. Deadly yet endearing, these snakes may well be the most sympathetic characters in the book! In her well-plotted first novel, former NY Times columnist Debra Galant serves up a simmering stew of social issue and slaptick. "Rattled" is Anna Quindlen meets the Marx Brothers

A good summer read, but ridiculous. This is good chewing gum for the brain. Perhaps an easy read on the beach, or on a plane. Perhaps you want to read the comics, but already have.
Rattled won't go into the history books as good literature.

Heather Peters wants the appearance of perfection all around her at whatever cost. She finds a nice little "McMansion" in Galapogos Estates, she's such a pain in the backside: example she ordered special curtains for her windows and when they didn't fit she didn't get new draperies, she had the windows fixed. She's a piece of work. Her husband is spineless and often times guided by his, ahem, in decision making. Neither of them ever seem to notice their son as he doesn't probably fit their ideal.

So the Peters move out to the Suburbs and the old timer locals including the conservationist and the guy who knows how to fix a thing or two (or wash rich folks lawn furniture) don't want them out there.

Heather hires the local handyman and her suddenly idyllic appearance gets rattled. Her home was put up based on a fudged ecological report and she is ontop of a nest of Timber Rattlers. After her handyman offs one for her the whole book goes on this crazy talespin of mishaps and colorful characters.

Heather is apalling which makes it all the more fun to watch her story unfold.

I really enjoyed Rattled...very funny, very "now" and very much suburbia at it's worst. Heather is a character you love to hate. I enjoyed getting to know her (not so much) and seeing her evolve (okay, that was a stretch). Rattled made me thankful to live in my small, not quite suburban dwelling. Thank you Debbie Galant for giving me insight into how "the other half lives" and realizing that the grass is not always greener on the other side!

This was our book club selection for July which was perfect because this is the kind of book you can read on the beach or from the deck of your cabin in the woods. It reads like a short story, its funny and the characterizations are lively. Don't expect any deep revelations about human nature here. Just a book that is fun to share.

I haven't read anything this funny in YEARS! I identified with so many characters and situations that I am almost embarrassed that Debbie seems to knows me so well...at least the nice side:) Once I started reading, I couldn't put it down...in fact I stayed up until 3:00AM...it was that good! I can't wait for her next book!

Rattled is a story of opposing viewpoints. The tale is set in the idyllic countryside of New Jersey's Hebron Township. Historically a farm village, over the last decade, Hebron Township has been overtaken by wealthy NY and CT commuters looking for spacious McMansions. Main characters include Harlan White, the five-decade plus bench warmer at the country store. While others have sold out to greedy developers, Harlan has kept his land. He's discovered a market for expensive organic and free-range eggs (with all the hip new residents), and he lives off his chicken farm despite the fact that he could pocket a huge sum if he sold it. The reader is also introduced to Heather Peters, a stereotypical chick-lit narrator. She's the master of complaints, calling any merchant or developer on the chopping block when they don't meet her ridiculous requests. When she spends a night in jail on trumped-up charges, she demands an accommodation-evaluation form so that she can lodge her complaints about the facility. The third main character is a ruthless real estate developer who built Heather's 200-house paradise, failing to mention that his ultimate plan was to buy out Harlan White and build another 800-homes, ruining Heather's illusion of countryside isolation. Oh, and there appear to be some dozens of rattlesnakes living in the housing development area.

Yes, Debra Galant's characters are over-the-top, almost to the point of being self-caricatures, especially in the case of Heather. That just makes this book all the more delightful! The action is larger than life, but Galant manages to execute a resolution in which the good guys win, the bad guys lose, and the characters on the fence manage to change the course of their lives for the better. Pick this novel up for a light, fun read. There's still time to take this one to the beach in 2006!

This is a fun, darkly drawn novel of dislikeable characters that are hard to not become enagaged in. You will laugh but at the same time think to yourself, "I know some of these people." The mother is self-centered and materialistic, Dad is confused, Agnes is animal crackers, Harlan is a slow-witted moron who thinks he's smart, Dana is pretty and dangerous, the real estate developer Barstad looks like Trump and the kid is hell on wheels. Throw them all in a mix with some dangerous snakes in New Jersey and you have one fun story.

Great summer reading. Just watch out for the rattle snakes.

I came across Debra Galant's book "Fear & Yoga in New Jersey" completely by accident. I started reading it in the store and couldn't put it down. I finally made it to the register and hurried home to finish it. I immediately went online after I was finished reading it and got her other two books, "Cars from a Marriage" and "Rattled." I just wish there were a hundred more. She's an excellent writer. Her books are witty and very grown-up in a way that reflects how grown-ups really are with all their faults and virtues. I planned my days around when I could get back to these books. Many things were neglected just so I could read a few more pages. I am looking forward to her next novel. Hopefully it will be soon!